The next update will be on Thursday, October 1st, at 08:30 PST.
The WHO Pandemic Alert level remains at Phase 6
Influenza A (H1N1) Cases and Deaths
*Cases reported by The World Health Organization (WHO) are as of 20th September, 2009
Local/National News
An unpublished, scientific paper, written by Dr. Danuta Skowronski of the British Columbia Centre for Disease Control and Dr. Gaston De Serres of Laval University, has raised the possibility that recipients of the seasonal flu vaccination in 2009 are twice as likely to contract the pandemic H1N1 influenza virus. The study, which involved 2000 clinical subjects from British Columbia, Quebec, and Ontario, is currently under review at the World Health Organization. Dr. Marie-Paule Kieny, director of the agency's Initiative for Vaccine Research, confirmed that the WHO is assembling a team of experts to peer review the paper. CBC
The above mentioned study has caused the provinces of British Columbia, Quebec, Alberta, Saskatchewan, Ontario, Prince Edward Island, and Nova Scotia to suspend seasonal flu shots for anyone less than 65 years of age until after the H1N1 vaccinations have been completed. Manitoba is currently undecided while New Brunswick is a lone hold-out, announcing it would forge ahead with seasonal flu shots for all residents in October, as originally planned. Globe and Mail
The Catholic Archdiocese of Winnipeg has banned handshaking between church-goers over concerns it could lead people to contract the H1N1 influenza virus. Archbishop James Weisgerber said all city Catholic churches and schools are now in "Stage 1" of a three-stage pandemic prevention plan. The archdiocese also said public holy-water fonts at church entrances have been drained to be replaced there by hand-sanitizing stations instead. CBC
The B.C. Medical Association wants its member physicians to be paid a fee by the provincial government for phone consultations involving potential H1N1 influenza cases. BCMA president Dr. Brian Brodie said it would be financially and medically smarter to keep possible H1N1 patients at home rather than having them come to physician offices, where other patients could be infected with the virus. The phone consultation fee, recently proposed by the BCMA in discussions with the ministry of health, is $14.74, half the current office-visit fee. Vancouver Sun
International News
Shops, hotels, and tour operators in Islam’s holiest city, Mecca, in western Saudi Arabia are counting the losses as many pilgrims, worried about swine flu, stay at home. The haj, one of the world’s biggest religious gatherings, is still two months away but there has already been a marked fall in visitors for the minor pilgrimage known as umra, which can be done at any time of the year. Tourism officials have said that hotel occupancy rates during the last ten days of the fasting month of Ramadan, when many perform umra, fell by more than a third to 55 percent compared to last year. Reuters
Vaccine News
Chinese Health Minister Chen Zhu has said that no “serious adverse reaction” has been reported from people being immunized with the China-made H1N1 flu vaccine. Zhu’s comments follow reports of Beijing announcing 14 cases of adverse reaction out of 39,000 residents, who were inoculated with the vaccine. Earlier, Liang Xiaofeng, director of the immunization center under the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention, had said the inoculations are safe, but that the possibility of adverse reactions cannot be ruled out. Health News
American health insurers Aetna Inc. and Anthem Blue Cross have confirmed they will cover administration of a swine flu vaccine for all plan members. Both companies said members will not have to make a co-payment or a deductible to get the vaccination. Anthem Blue Cross also said the antiviral drugs Tamiflu and Relenza "will move to an economical tier in plan formularies." Associated Press
A rally has been planned in Albany by health workers primarily from Stony Brook University Medicine Centre to protest the mandatory vaccination prescribed to all health workers in the New York state. Workers who refuse the shot will be reassigned to non-patient care roles. However, once these roles have been filled, those who continue to refuse will have their employment terminated. Some nurses and many other health care providers say the regulation violates their personal freedom and leaves them vulnerable to vaccine injury, citing deaths associated with the last federal government swine flu vaccination program in 1976. Newsday
Week’s Feature
Although most cases so far have been mild, an H1N1 infection can severely damage the lungs of some people. The following links provide a comparison of a healthy set of lungs with those of a patient infected with H1N1.
Healthy lungs: X-Ray
Patient with H1N1: Diagnostic Imaging X-Rays
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